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Series of events at Hamline to raise awareness about the issues of violence against women throughout the world.

Hamline University invites the public to a series of events to raise awareness about the issues of violence against women throughout the world.

Students for a World without Genocide, a Hamline student organization, and Hamline’s Office of Multicultural and International Student Affairs will hold three events as part of the International Violence against Women Summit. They will all take place at Hamline’s Saint Paul campus on March 8, 2010 and are free and open to the public.

“Gender-based violence is the largest humanitarian crisis our world faces today. It tears at our basic humanity. Violence against women and girls destroys individuals, families, and communities,” said Mark Turbak, leader of the Students for a World without Genocide group. “Its havoc acts as a destructive ripple in time that obliterates the hopes and dreams of generation after generation.”

The on-campus events include the airing of a documentary film on the brutal war in the Congo, a violence against women panel discussion, and an international women of distinction coffee hour.

The film, “The Greatest Silence: Rape in the Congo,” will be shown in East Hall 106, 1492 Hewitt Avenue 11 a.m.-12 p.m. It discusses the brutal war that has been raging in the Democratic Republic of Congo, leaving tens of thousands of women and girls systematically kidnapped, raped, injured, or tortured by soldiers from both foreign militias and the Congolese army.

The “Violence against Women” panel discussion will take place in the same location, immediately following the documentary film. Speakers from Breaking Free, the Center for Victims of Torture, and a representative from Congresswoman Betty McCullom’s office will be on hand to discuss the issues of rape and torture.

An “International Women of Distinction Coffee Hour” will take place later that afternoon from 3-5 p.m. in the Art Gallery of Giddens Learning Center, located at 1556 Hewitt Avenue. The coffee hour is devoted to international women who are leaders in social and political movements and will include an informal discussion regarding international perspectives on women’s rights and empowerment. It is sponsored by the Office of Multicultural & International Student Affairs.

For more information on these events, contact Mark Turbak: mturbak01@hamlineuniversity.edu or the Office of Multicultural & International Student Affairs at multicultural@hamline.edu or (651) 523-2423.